


Red Roses

by CaithyCat



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Crush, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:16:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaithyCat/pseuds/CaithyCat
Summary: When T.J. first met Cyrus, he wished that he didn’t waste 3 minutes debating on whether he should ask him out. (A/N: This is my Secret Valentine Gift for Tumblr's Andi Mack Valentine Gift exchange.)





	Red Roses

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This has an accompanying video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbKxv_UUh30) and a mood board.

“You get my friend Cyrus, here, a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin. Then we have a deal.”

T.J. couldn’t help but stare at the brown-haired boy, looking fearfully at him.

He didn’t know what he expected when he walked into the cafeteria that day, resolved to confront Buffy and intimidate her into tutoring him. Maybe compliance. Or complete rejection. Perhaps, something in the middle.

It certainly wasn’t the way his heart skipped a beat when he locked eyes with the cute brunette with sparkling brown eyes and soft-looking lips.

He knew it was creepy, being stared at. But, he couldn’t help his staring. In all his 13 years of life, he’d never seen such a pretty boy before.

He would have stared forever if the boy’s questioning gaze didn’t remind him that he was supposed to be an intimidating basketball jock. He wanted to say something. Anything.

“You can’t get your own muffin?” he blurted out, inwardly slapping himself in the head for sounding so mean.

“I didn’t need this extra level of humiliation,” the boy told Buffy before turning to him with a cute sheepish grin. “But, no.”

T.J.’s lips twitched.

The next conversation was a bit of a blur. He remembered telling him to walk up to the muffin like he owned it. Snapping at Buffy for daring to say that her cute friend (Cyrus, was it?) couldn’t do it. Giving him a little push (T.J. could swear his hands tingled). Intimidating the other students when they tried to complain.

“You’re gonna taste so sweet,” the brunette mumbled, lovingly, at the pastry.

T.J. had never been jealous of a muffin before. He supposed there was a first time for everything.

The encounter took three minutes. Three minutes when he could have said the right words.

T.J. already knew he was gay. Had been ever since he kissed Johnny Kavinski in the first grade as a dare and compared it to his later kiss with Liza Diaz (also in the first grade) and liked the one with Johnny better…loads better.

So, he knew what he wanted. And he knew a crush when he felt it. And he was definitely hit hard by Cupid’s arrow right then and there. The metaphor was so off-season (it wasn’t even February!) and he felt like such a dork thinking it in his head.

But, that was what was happening, right there, in just those three minutes.

_“Will you go on a date with me?”_

He could have said those words.

But, he didn’t. How could he? He didn’t even know if the kid liked boys, too.

Allowing his doubts to creep in, he ended up walking away.

 

* * *

 

If T.J. didn’t think he was a creeper before, he definitely believed that he was one now. 

He had been fuming on his way home, annoyed and angry at Buffy for saying that he was stupid (okay, maybe she didn’t say that exactly but still, he knew she was thinking it). His eyes were stinging with tears he refused to let fall and wondered why life was so unfair.

But, then, he spotted the familiar head of brown and heard that voice.

It was a pretty voice…like his face. (T.J. was pretty good at English but at that moment, he really couldn’t think of a synonym for ‘pretty’. The boy was just…pretty).

His feet changed direction and took him right to the swing set.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about him, ever since that first encounter. T.J. often watched him in the halls but never had the opportunity to approach him. The boy was always with Buffy, that tiny short-haired girl whose name he didn’t know, and Jonah Beck.

And T.J. didn’t want to explain to them why he wanted to talk to the kid. He just needed an opportunity to do it.

“Chocolate-chocolate chip muffin, right?” he smoothly stated, letting the other boy know that, yes, he remembered him well so he had nothing to fear.

“Scary basketball guy.”

T.J.’s chest twitched in disappointment, but he supposed that was better than not being remembered at all. At least the kid knew who he was.

“Actually, T.J.,” he corrected, unable to keep himself from frowning.

But the boy kept smiling. It was a nice smile.

“I know,” he teased before pointing at himself. “Cyrus.”

Of course, T.J. remembered his name. This was his chance to make a good impression. To no longer be a scary basketball guy.

“So…do you come here a lot?”

Cringe-worthy line but it worked. The other boy began to relax.

They talked. They played on the swings. T.J. made him laugh. Cyrus made him feel like he wasn’t all that bad.

It was fun being with him.

T.J. had it bad.

He considered taking the plunge and asking him out after their little swinging session. Maybe ask him out to milkshakes at The Spoon? Or ice cream at the nearby Baskin Robbins? And Cyrus liked muffins so maybe they could go to the little bakery across the park? Or maybe a study date? (Cyrus was smart, T.J. once saw him coming out of the Honors Math classroom.)

He was gonna do it.

He was asking him right there, right now.

It only took all of 3 minutes for Buffy to barge in and ruin it all.

T.J. missed his chance again.

“You know where to find me,” Cyrus said to Buffy before turning to him with a kind smile. “And so do you.”

T.J. felt his heart flutter.

Why couldn’t he say a word?!

 

* * *

 

The next thing he knew, the day he normally dreaded every year arrived. Not because he had some tragic memory associated with it. Simply because it seemed so over the top. All the flowers and candies and balloons? Too much.

But that Valentine’s Day of 7th grade, he found himself walking up to the table manned by 2 girls. Behind them were buckets of single roses and on the table, were boxes of candy hearts and chocolates.

Jefferson did candy and flower-grams every year for Valentine’s Day and he normally scoffed at the idea. It just made people who didn’t get anything feel bad. (Not that T.J. wasn’t one of them. In fact, as a player on the basketball team and now Captain, he had his fair share of admirers.)

Nervously, he cleared his throat. “Um… one rose,” he stated to the girls.

They were 8th graders so they weren’t intimidated by a 7th grader like him. One of them stood up and took a rose wrapped in plastic from one of the buckets.

“Name, grade, and homeroom?” she asked, placing the rose on the table.

“Um… can I just take it and give it to person?”

She didn’t seem surprised by the request, probably thinking that he was buying the rose for himself. T.J. resisted the urge to sneer at her and, instead, just handed over the money. She handed him the rose and a card, which he then stuffed into his backpack.

Probably wasn’t the best place for them but he didn’t want to go around with a flower in his hand. Besides, he only had a couple of minutes to do this before the bell rang.

He spotted Cyrus at his locker, swapping books. His brown hair looked so shiny under the fluorescent lights and he was wearing a red hoodie patterned with little dachshund puppies – very festive.

Smiling, T.J. approached. “Hey, Underdog.”

Cyrus turned to him and smiled. “Hey there, not-so-scary basketball guy! What’s up?”

T.J. opened his mouth to answer when an excited squeal made them turn their heads.

A girl down the hallway had just received a candy-gram and was excitedly jumping up and down with her friends. The student delivering them just sighed and walked away with his basket, forlorn and looking like he’d rather do something else than deliver candy and flowers to overexcited students.

Cyrus let out a chuckle, making T.J. turn back to him. “Valentine’s Day, huh? Are you a lover or hater of this blessed capitalist holiday?”

T.J. shrugged. “Indifferent. But, I’m looking forward to all the candy on sale tomorrow.” He tilted his head, slightly. “What about you?”

Cyrus also shrugged. “Eh, it’s not so bad. It’s kinda nice … seeing everyone all cute and lovey-dovey. And the teachers give out chocolate so that’s always a plus.”

Ahhh, so he was a bit of a romantic.

T.J. could feel the rose in his backpack practically burning a hole through him.

“Yeah…free chocolate,” was all he could say.

Cyrus smiled and went back to his locker, rummaging through his things.

“So, uh, actually…” T.J. began to slide one strap down his shoulder. “I…”

“Hey, Cyrus.”

A redhead with glasses whom T.J. recognized from his History class but whose name he couldn’t remember approached them, a basket of candy and roses hanging from his arm.

Cyrus beamed at the newcomer. “Hey, Gus. Volunteering again this year, huh? I would have done it but there’s too much going on.”

T.J. knew what was going on. Buffy had moved and Cyrus was taking it really hard. He felt a little guilty that he wasn’t able to patch things up before she left.

“Delivering lets me talk to people,” the redhead, Gus, answered before handing Cyrus a box of candy hearts and a card. “This one’s for you.”

“Thanks!”

With a nod, the redhead left.

T.J.’s felt disappointment sink in. Cyrus had an admirer? Well, he shouldn’t be surprised. The brunette was cute. Who wouldn’t like him?

He jealously eyed the card as Cyrus opened it, a sweet smile appearing on his lips as he read it.

“So… who’s it from?” T.J. casually asked.

Cyrus looked up. “Andi.”

“Ahh.” T.J. pursed his lips. “So… are you two… dating?”

To his confusion, Cyrus snorted in laughter. “What? No! She’s one of my best friends! And we’ve sent each other candy grams every year since the third grade. If Buffy was here…” He trailed off, his smile replaced by a frown, before sighing. “I’d be getting two of these. And I’d have gotten them one each, too.” Shrugging, he placed the card inside his locker, in between some books. “It’s just Andi and me this year… and probably for the rest of our Middle School life. And high school.”

T.J. breathed out in relief but he hated seeing Cyrus so sad. Again, the rose in his bag seemed to press against his back, letting him know that it was still there, waiting to be given. But…he couldn’t move.

Meanwhile, oblivious to his inner turmoil, Cyrus opened the box of candy hearts and took out a green one.

 _ **“Miss you,”**_  he read out loud with a smile. “I should take a pic of this and send it to Buffy.”

He did just that, taking out his phone and snapping a photo. Then, he popped the candy into his mouth, grinning playfully at T.J.

The latter’s heart skipped a beat.

“Here.” Cyrus took out a yellow candy heart and handed it to him.

T.J. gingerly took it like it was a piece of treasure. **_“Be mine,”_**  he read out.

As the words sunk in, he could feel the heat rush to his cheeks. Was it on purpose? Did Cyrus intentionally give him this candy heart? Was he trying to tell T.J. something?

Cyrus giggled and reached out to take T.J.’s hand.

His heart was beating a million times a minute now.

With a grin, Cyrus turned his hand palm up… and shook the box of candy hearts over it. Pieces of candy hearts of various colors and sayings filled his hand.

“I know they’re not the yummiest candy around but I don’t mind sharing,” he stated, happily.

T.J. could only smile. “Thanks.”

Satisfied, Cyrus turned to close his locker before placing the box in his bag. “I gotta head to class. See you around?”

“Yeah… See ya.”

He could only watch as the brunette walked away from him before popping the “Be Mine” heart into his mouth.

It was both sweet and tart.

Meanwhile, the rose in his backpack wilted.

 

* * *

 

So much had happened in the last year alone.

He made up with Buffy and even helped her out with her team. He and Cyrus had their first fight (if you could even call it a fight) and made up (no thanks to Reed and Lester and Reed’s Dad’s stupid gun). He fixed things with Jonah (he didn’t even realize there was anything to fix but as long as it was fixed).

And so on and so forth…

Suffice to say, the two boys got closer. Heck, he had practically been elevated from a casual friend whom Cyrus occasionally hung out with and texted to a best friend whom Cyrus talked to everyday for no reason at all other than to just share his day.  

Getting closer to Cyrus meant that his feelings for the boy grew stronger. He was a goner. He was smitten. He would give Cyrus the moon if he asked for it.

And many opportunities that presented themselves as an ideal moment to ask Cyrus out.

But, T.J. took none of them.

Why?

Maybe because for the first time in his life (all 14 years of it), he was actually afraid of being rejected and losing someone.

Cyrus became more than just a crush to him. He was his best friend. A confidante. Someone who always had his back, no matter what. Someone who believed in him, who saw through his tough guy act and saw the real T.J. behind the mask.

The moment and timing needed to be right.

Before he knew it, Valentine’s Day of 8th grade had arrived. And, compared to last year, he was a completely different person. For one, he didn’t hate the holiday as much as he used to.  

He had woken up to a text from the brunette that said  _“Happy Heart’s Day!”_  complete with a flying kiss, teddy bears, and heart emojis. (And if he blushed a little at seeing those, he would deny it. He did respond with a gif of a cupid shooting an arrow that exploded into the words “ _Happy Valentine’s Day!_ ”)

He entered school, bombarded by pink and hearts and roses. Seeing them before used to make him want to puke, but now? A smile tugged at his lips.

He passed by the table of candy and flower-grams. There was a line already. He had wanted to get a candy-gram for Cyrus – for friendship’s sake, of course! – but it looked like it would take a while. So, he ended up going to his locker instead, figuring he would go back after he had gotten his things for the day.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to go back to the table as his teammates ambushed him at his locker for small talk then urged him to grab breakfast with them. In the past, he would have brushed them off and done his own thing, but he was a changed man and was trying to be a better Captain. So, he figured he would get something for Cyrus during the lunch break.

In homeroom, he read his book for English class, mostly kept to himself. He may have been trying to be better but some of his classmates were still wary of him…not that he could blame them. He wasn’t exactly Mother Teresa last year.

A voice announcing, “Valentine deliveries!” rang out in the room. He paid it no mind, too focused on his book.

He hated Math but he loved English. There was just something about the written word that always fascinated him. Words could embed themselves in his mind. If Math were words, he was pretty sure he would be good at it. But, unfortunately, his brain just didn’t like numbers.

“T.J. Kippen?”

Sighing, he looked up and flashed the delivery student a neutral smile. She handed him a rose and three boxes of candy. He raised a brow at them – he had fewer admirers than last year. He guessed that was a good thing? Maybe the bad boy turned good image just didn’t work for some of them.

“Thanks,” he told her before she nodded and moved on to the next student.

He stared at the gifts. He usually just got candy. Never a rose. He picked up the card, expecting to read something from another secret admirer when his breath caught in his throat.

Written on the card were the words:

**_Happy Valentine’s Day, Basketball Guy!  
Love, Underdog_ **

His heart began to increase its pace as his ears heated up. The smile that tugged at his lips was almost instantaneous. He read the words over and over and over again, believing that he was imagining them, that they would evaporate once he got his senses back.

But no, they were right there, written in the familiar neat cursive in red ink and accompanied by a cute little red heart next to the signature.

Cyrus had gotten him a Valentine. And signed it with “love”.

All of a sudden, a burst of courage filled him. It was so incredibly cliché. But, T.J. couldn’t find it in himself to be mad or annoyed about it.

Taking out his phone, he sent the other boy a quick text:  _Meet me at your locker at lunch._

He couldn’t remember much of the rest of his classes…which was kind of bad because one of them was Math but he would just study extra hard at his tutoring session.

When the bell rang for lunch, T.J. sprang up from his seat and ran out of class. He sped to his locker, quickly swapped his books, and ran towards the front of the school. Thankfully, there were only two students in line. He impatiently waited, tapping his foot against the floor and checking his phone for the time.

Cyrus had texted him:  **I’m at my locker. Where r u?**

He responded, quickly:  **Be there soon! Getting held up.**

Finally, it was his turn.

“I’ll have a rose,” he said, practically throwing money at the two girls manning the table. “And the candy.”

“Name and-.”

“I’ll give them to him, myself, thanks.”

The two girls raised their eyebrows at his impatience but, nonetheless, handed him a rose, a box of candy, and a card. Stuffing the card in his pocket, he snatched the flower and candy and rushed off.

He navigated through throngs of students making their way to lunch and managed to dodge teachers and hall monitors who would probably stop him for running in the halls and making him even later.

Finally, he skidded to a halt, his mind going blank. For a moment, he just stood there, staring.

Cyrus was at the other end of the hall, leaning against his locker and playing around on his phone. He was dressed for the holiday in a pink, long-sleeved button down, looking so cute and innocent.

T.J. felt this throat dry and he swallowed, trying to get his bearings together.

He was really doing this. No more backing out.

Taking a deep breath and moving the flowers and chocolate behind his back, he made his approach. His heart was thundering against his chest, but he didn’t let it deter his moves.

When he was close, he forced his voice out, “Cyrus.”

The brunette looked up from his phone and beamed at him.

“Hi, T.J.,” he greeted, tucking his phone into his pocket and walking over to him. “Did you get my flower-gram?”

The thought of the rose safely put away in his locker made T.J. blush.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks, it was an unexpected surprise.”

Cyrus sheepishly shrugged, looking so immensely proud of himself. “So, why’d you ask to meet me here?” he asked.

Now that he was in front of him, T.J. didn’t quite know what to say. He was tongue-tied, so to speak.

_“Would you be my valentine?”_

The phrase repeated itself in his head, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out.

Cyrus looked up at him, expectantly. He had grown taller since they met, but T.J. had always been rather tall for his age. Thus, it still put the cute brunette at least half a head shorter than him. It gave T.J. a perfect view of his sparkling brown eyes, his adorable button nose, and that cute little mole on his cheek.

Gosh, he really was a goner for this boy!

Wordlessly, T.J. revealed the rose from behind his back and handed it to Cyrus. The brunette’s eyes widened and his face turned as red as the flower.

“For me?” he asked, sounding unsure.

T.J. nodded.

Cyrus took the flower and lifted it up to his nose, a soft smile painting his lips. “Thank you.”

T.J.’s heart fluttered as he cleared his throat. “So…I have something to say.”

Cyrus nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“But, I… Ahem… Ahhh… I kinda suck at words,” he admitted, chuckling a little. “So… um…”

The words got stuck in his throat. He knew what he wanted to say. Why couldn’t he say them?!

It was so simple:  _“Cyrus, I like you. Please be my Valentine.”_

His hands tightened around the box of candy hearts behind him.

The candy hearts…

Like a light bulb just went off in his head, T.J. revealed the box to Cyrus. The brunette reached out to take it but T.J. shook his head. Cyrus pulled back, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.  

T.J. rummaged through the box, looking for the right phrase. Finding a pink one, he took it out and handed it to Cyrus, who accepted with an amused grin.

 ** _“You’re sweet,”_**  he read out loud before his cheeks turned a shade of pink. “W-Well… T-Thank you. You’re sweet, too.” Cheekily, he popped the candy into his mouth. “Was that what you wanted to tell me?”

Mesmerized, T.J. shook his head and rummaged through the box again for another candy. Finding what he needed, he held it out to the other boy again. His heart refused to calm down as Cyrus took the candy, reading it.

The brunette’s face turned an even darker shade of red as his eyes seemed to freeze on the candy.

It made T.J. nervous. Did he jump the gun? Was it too soon? Should he have given him a different candy?

 ** _“I like you,”_**  Cyrus read out, softly. He raised his head to meet T.J.’s eyes and smiled. “I… I like you too, T.J.”

The blonde’s heart skipped a beat before doubt filled him up again.

“I like you” can mean anything. Cyrus might believe that it was a platonic kind of like so maybe he liked T.J. in the same way. Or maybe Cyrus liked him like a brother – he was an only child and he told T.J. one time that he wished he had a sibling.

It could mean anything. He could pass it off as exactly that. Save himself and their friendship. Continue to pine for Cyrus from afar.

But, as the cute brunette continued to smile at him, making his heart beat erratically, T.J. couldn’t let this moment pass.

No more doubts. No more running away. He was facing this head-on and finally telling Cyrus how he felt about him.  

He searched through the box.

Taking a deep breath as he summoned all of his courage, T.J. handed him the last candy. Cyrus took it, fingers gently brushing his.

Reading the candy heart, he let out a gasp, eyes widening. He looked up at T.J. with questions and – dare he think – hope.

“T.J….”

The blonde swallowed as the anxious butterflies in his stomach turned to dread. Finally, he found his words.

“That was… oh, god… was that too much? I’m sorry, Cyrus. I don’t know what came over me. Ignore me, I-.”

“T.J.”

Cyrus had stepped closer now, raising the candy heart up to his cheek, the words  ** _“Be Mine”_**  written in little sugar letters.

“Do you mean this?” he asked.

T.J. swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

Cyrus smiled. “Yeah? Then, why don’t you say it out loud?”

T.J. stared at him, open-mouthed. A few beats passed and the brunette waited, patient and encouraging him with his eyes.

Finally, T.J. swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath.

“Be mine, Cyrus? Not just for today. But…everyday… for as long as you want me.”

God, that was cheesy!

But, he was pleased to see that it made Cyrus’ smile widen. Giggling, the boy popped both candies into his mouth, his nose scrunching like a bunny.

Hope bloomed in T.J.’s chest as the other boy stepped closer to him and took the box of candy hearts from him. Cyrus searched through it for a second or two before pulling one out and handing it to T.J.

He accepted and, with his thundering heartbeat, read the words written there:  ** _Crazy 4 U._**

“You’re really good at making my heart go ‘baboombaboombaboom’, you know,” Cyrus teased.

Oh, dear God, he was so adorable.

T.J. swallowed. “Does this mean that you…”

“Like you too? Yeah.” Cyrus looked shy all of a sudden. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah!” T.J. inwardly cringed at how eager he sounded but he didn’t let it show nor did he dwell on it long enough to care because Cyrus liked him back!

He liked T.J. back!

“I mean… yeah… cool,” he tried to be casual.

Cyrus stepped closer again, the tips of their shoes practically meeting. “Cool.”

Gingerly, he took T.J.’s hand.

The blonde practically exploded in fireworks right there and then from that simple touch.

“So…” he started.

“So…” Cyrus echoed, sweetly.

T.J. squeezed his hand. “Have lunch with me?”

With a toothy grin, Cyrus nodded. With the box of candies in his pocket, the rose in one hand and T.J.’s hand in the other, he allowed the blonde to lead him towards the cafeteria.

T.J. felt like he was floating on clouds (if this light, airy feeling he was experiencing was how floating on clouds felt like). He felt invincible, like he could do anything. Heck, he felt like doing a couple of Math problems, right then and there!

“Wait.”

T.J. paused, turning back to look at the boy whose hand he was holding, questioningly.

“Does this mean you’ll be my Valentine?” Cyrus asked, cheekily.

Laughing, T.J. pulled him close to his side, placing an arm around his shoulders. “Yeah. Will you be mine?”

Looking up at him, his light brown hair and pretty brown eyes sparkling under the lights, Cyrus wrapped an arm around his waist.

“Yes,” he piped, pressing a shy kiss to T.J.’s cheek.

Yep, Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad as long as his Valentine was Cyrus Goodman. 


End file.
